thetwigster

For the past month I have been gainfully employed at Big Daddy’s diner on the Upper East Side of NYC.  When I wasn’t blowing up balloons for the kiddies, attempting to balance dishes or making a countless number of cookie monster milkshakes, I served people their food. Service with smile of course.  Here are some things I realized as I had shake mix splattered all over my face and a table that left $1 for a $60 meal.

1. Don’t be rude to your waitress when your order is incorrect.

I worked the holiday season at Big Daddy’s and we were swamped on the weekends. Servers ran around like crazy as the kitchen tried to turn out food as quickly as possible. Mistakes were inevitable on both ends. Oh, you ordered an egg white omelette instead of a regular one? Oops. We are happy to fix your order if you keep your cool. I’m sure you make mistakes at work sometimes. Surprise, surprise, so do servers. Give us a break!

2. Don’t alter the menu item.

The item that you are interested in on the menu is like that for a reason. The kitchen does not have every single food option at its disposal, mostly it has the ingredients on the menu. With that said, stick to the damn menu! (I was formerly guilty of this, I must admit.)

3.  An opportunity for a random act of kindness.

Food portions at Big Daddy’s were BIG. Very often people were unable to finish their meals and left untouched halves of sandwiches and even whole burgers on their plates. Seeing as how I would normally pass a homeless person on my way to work everyday, I didn’t have the heart to throw away the food. So I started putting aside the leftovers until I got off my shift and gave very thankful homeless people food that would have ended up trashed. You can do the same thing, a random act of kindness.

4. If you want to order food and have the option, use Seamlessweb.com instead of calling the restaurant.

Servers at Big Daddy also answered the phone and put in delivery orders. While we are trying to bus tables or bring out food, it’s not too easy to take your order. Trust me it is easier for you to do it online anyway. No one asks you to hold on the web.

5. The food industry in NYC is dominated by Spanish-speakers.

Rusty on your Spanish and want to brush up? Become a server.

6. Don’t forget the value of your time. 

There was a fine line between being a good employee and being taken advantage of at Big Daddy’s. Among servers’ responsibilities was restocking the stations after their shift, which entailed multiple trips up and downstairs to the storage room and refrigerators. Sometimes this could take upwards of a half of an hour, especially if you were on bar duty that day. Since servers work primarily for tips with a $5 an hour wage, when they don’t have a table they are not making very much money. Restocking, cleaning the tables and the stations more or less was free labor for the restaurant. Not cool, especially after you worked a double and wanted to get home.

7. Tip your waiters & waitresses, please.

Like I said, servers work for tips. Please give your servers 20% of the bill. If you really have a bad experience with your server, then use your judgment, but please be considerate. It is their living.

8. Money-making.

I drained my bank account so I could live and work in New Orleans with Lowernine.org during November 2011. Therefore, in order to fund my next adventure, the journey west, I needed to save some money. Seeing as how I was seeking a very temporary position, my options were very limited. I am grateful that I had the opportunity to work for Big Daddy’s, but I often found myself incredibly depressed after work. After speaking with my sister I realized my problem. I can not work solely for the acquisition of money. It is awful to work without your passion involved, and working primarily for money without a grander goal in mind made me feel like a huge sellout. Ew.

9. One portion per meal, please.

I witnessed just how unhealthily people eat. One mother allowed her already obese son to order 2 hot dogs, a cheeseburger, a side of tater tots, and to top it off, a vanilla milkshake. That kid’s health can’t be good, and his mother certainly wasn’t helping the cause.

10. There are selfish and beautiful people in the world.